Dixie Chicks

Been off line for quite a while. I downsized as I perfected my runs. I now have a problem brought to me by a friend. I am certain she did not mean to. Any help or advice given will be greatly appreciated... I posted this in: Emergency/Injuries/Disease section

HELP, possible Mereks,

On Thursday early evening, a friend asked me to watch over her Roo while she is gone on vacation bc English Orpington Large Fowl Roo was just at Vet for what appeared to be an injury from weeks before.

Vet prescribed Prednisolone. She brought Roo to me from the Vets. She carried beautiful large English Orpington Roo to my empty coop I use for chicks and demonstrated he had NO feeling in his feet or legs. And she said his mate another beautiful English Orpington stopped laying eggs when he started limping. Been a couple of weeks maybe. She put him in my cleaned chick coop with food and water. I did not touch him till next day, Friday to give meds and found he was lousy with lice. How did the Vet miss that? How did she miss that? This was not an over night infestation!

I should have inspected him before she left because I would have said NO way take him back home with you. I do not want to give lice and disease to my own. This Roo has more wrong than a limp from getting caught in his fence.

I just went through an episode this early Spring of clearing up my own English Orpingtons that picked up mess from bringing home Guineas from a swap, my son bought Guineas diseased &/with pests to my own clean poultry. Still, can not get over the fact she came directly to my place from the Vet with a chicken with undiagnosed lice and unknown what is wrong with him besides his leg, other than the fact she says she found him with his leg caught in chicken wire a couple of weeks earlier? That and the Vet prescribing a med that does not even state what is wrong with chicken. She said she found him with his foot caught in chicken wire some time back, maybe 2 or more weeks, I believe her. But what caused him to get his foot caught is not clarified. Worse is they did not see how lousy with lice he was when I inspected him the next morning(Friday) to give him meds. Let me be clear on this, this is no over night case of lice, this Roo was lousy with them.

The Roo drank water Thursday night but did not eat. Friday morning we moved him from inside the coop hutch to coop yard and he stayed in basically the same position and never drank or ate all day and into Friday evening. Late Friday I treated him for his lice. He is too passive, appears to have given up. He has no feeling in his legs nor feet as she told Me and showed me. I too, thought it was nerve damage and understood why Vet sent Roo home BUT by Friday night I was online checking for what else it could be because My alarms went off inside my head and said, self...this Chicken has more wrong with him than the nerve damage in his leg from getting caught in wire. This Roo fits description of Mereks and the fact she said when he started limping, his mate stopped laying eggs. She has not laid for a while now. That kept coming back at me and reading over and over again one of Mereks symptoms is the lack of eggs in hens and pullets as well as limping. Oh my! Please help, advice needed.
 
Wow A&A, I hope this doesn't pass to your birds, and someone has some suggestions for you.
How long is friend going to be gone? I'd consider euthanizing and tell her he died. :oops:
(can you take him back to her house?)
 
She has a few chickens her hubby is caring for. He was not able to care for an injured chicken So she asked me. I said yes basing my answer on he was injured. After seeing him I do not understand why Vet did not see he was lousy with lice and with this Roos symptoms there is no way it is just injured foot or leg. This Roo is all beautiful feathers and NO meat on his big English Orpington bones. He has been sick a long time to loose this kind of weight.
 
I couldn’t remember my password... for months. I was inspired to reset it today because I’ve finally attached my greenhouse to my coop, which I’ve been dreaming of doing since @Alaskan metioned it forever ago back in the cold folks home. Hope all is well with everyone
 

Attachments

  • B11BC74F-30BF-446C-BCFB-2F2A1B2388A7.jpeg
    B11BC74F-30BF-446C-BCFB-2F2A1B2388A7.jpeg
    717.1 KB · Views: 5
  • 2C524485-B36D-4B4F-858C-1A6E26DCCB8D.jpeg
    2C524485-B36D-4B4F-858C-1A6E26DCCB8D.jpeg
    802.3 KB · Views: 5
I couldn’t remember my password... for months. I was inspired to reset it today because I’ve finally attached my greenhouse to my coop, which I’ve been dreaming of doing since @Alaskan metioned it forever ago back in the cold folks home. Hope all is well with everyone
Great to see you again!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom